6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 2.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
A happily married London barrister falls in love with the accused poisoner he is defending.
Starring: Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn (I), Ethel BarrymoreRomance | 100% |
Drama | 79% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Music: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (192 kbps)
BDInfo verified
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
1947’s “The Paradine Case” is a rest stop during an incredibly fertile time in Alfred Hitchcock’s creativity, arriving after “Spellbound,” “Notorious,” and “Lifeboat,” while preceding 1948’s “Rope,” which this picture feels like a test run for. Far from his greatest work, “The Paradine Case” still offers a few premiere Hitchcock moments, attempting to jazz up a murder mystery/courtroom drama with visual control and a few fine performances, working to make something passably meaty out of a dry run of suspicion and obsession (a Hitchcock specialty).
The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation was exposed to some restorations efforts nearly a decade ago. The results remain compelling in 2017, delivering a satisfactory viewing experience with decent clarity, finding facial particulars throughout, with close-ups holding long enough to grasp thespian subtleties (including Peck's sweaty courtroom appearance near the end of the movie). Grain is heavy, a bit chunky, but still filmic. Delineation is consistent, and whites secure. Source is strong, but speckling is present, and the occasional blip of damage is detected.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is pushed to the limits by the score, which just barely hangs on to basic instrumentation as it emerges loudly, threatening distortive extremes. Dramatic accompaniment is less insistent, achieving moods without issues. Dialogue exchanges are defined to satisfaction, managing accents and intensity well. Group dynamic is maintained. Hiss is present throughout the track.
While Peck and Valli deliver fine work as a lawyer and his enigmatic client, it's Todd who walks away with the movie, communicating the utter, but silent, horror of a wife watching her husband tempted away, unsure how to appropriately defend her marriage. It's a sensational performance, and it's greatly missed once the trial begins. Hitchcock adds some visual flourishes here and there, but it's clear "The Paradine Case" isn't a passion project, with the whole picture losing steam the longer it draws out the case.
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